Movement Matters

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Do it at your next party and everyone will marvel at your flexibility...then watch them all get down on the ground and try it!

Chances are, most will fail because according to dictionary.com, only a mere 1 in 2,000 humans can do this:

This action is called interdigitate.

It's a verb which means to interlock the fingers of both hands. A feat (pun intended), according to dictionary.com, that humans cannot do with their toes.

So why, besides becoming the life of the party, would you want to do this?

My answer is: what could soft, responsive toes do for you?

Think about that for a moment. Plantar fasciitis and painful feet are epidemic in baby boomers. We have neglected our feet for most of our lives, taking them for granted. We spent years wearing uncomfortable shoes with pointed toes and high heels. Now we exercise and have learned to hold ourselves our "center," over-using our hips, knees, and feet. Many of us clench our toes!

Without realizing it, we hold our stress in our feet.

In order to interlace your toes, you must know what you are doing with your hips, your spine, and your belly.

Having hips that are stable (yet movable) is key at any age. Stable hips mean you can maintain a posture that works no matter what activity you choose to do. Do you like to dance? Play tennis? Having a flexible, competent spine along with those stable hips will allow you to bend, squat, and lift. And we must know when to contract our abdominal muscles and when to relax them because, contrary to current theory, our core muscles are not meant to be held tightly at all times. Odd as it sounds, when we are constantly clenching our abdominals, we have a tendency to overuse our feet; especially when walking.

Learning to interlace (or interdigitate) our toes is a complete exercise. You will be surprised at the knowledge of yourself you gain as you learn to do this. You will learn how to pay attention to parts of yourself that you may not have known were related.

I know the burning question that you are having right now: Can I actually do this? Yes you can. You can learn to have the soft, flexible feet that you once had!

You can learn to do this and more. You will be amazed to discover that all it takes is learning (or re-learning) through paying attention to how your body works. (NOTE: it's not about strength, or even flexibility. You'll struggle if you try too hard!)

For now it might be enough to know that you could be able to do this if you wanted to.

Monday, March 6, 2017

Spring will be here in a minute. Are you like me? Are you thinking about “spring cleaning?”

Don’t get confused. I said “thinking” about it. Actually, I can live in clutter. I like my "stuff." What I don't like is having a cluttered brain or body. Many people have spotless homes and offices, but their brain and bodies are still in disarray. In fact, they are even beyond cluttered. They are overloaded.

I have a question for you. Does clutter cause stress? Or does stress cause clutter?
Does a cluttered home cause your brain to be stressed, or does a stressful situation cause you mind, body, and home to be cluttered?

What is stress any way? It is a reaction to anything that disturbs our equilibrium, our balance, either physically or emotionally. In other words, it's forever a part of life. A stressful event can trigger the “fight-or-flight” response, causing hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol to surge through the body. However, stress is not always a bad thing. Life’s pressures cause us to get out of bed in the morning. They allow us to go to work or to get our children to school.

Sometimes, we just can’t balance our life. We rush around trying to accomplish everything and nothing. We are in such a hurry that we stop paying attention to the state of our body or our mind.

What does “stress” or
“clutter” feel like? This list could be
very long. Often we feel some degree of instability. Or we feel angry and we
don’t know why. We feel uncertain or we are in pain. We often have problems sleeping, or, breathing.

Many people and modalites advocate ways to relieve stress and
they are almost all good. The question becomes, how easy are they to do, to do
at any given moment. How quickly do they act and relieve our state of imbalance
and volatility? Are they lasting? Can we do them while we are driving, working,
grocery shopping?

I know the secret. We can't necessarily change the stressors, but, we can change the way we react to them . There are answers. We can diminish your reaction to stress quickly. The difference in my work is that you will be able to do it for yourself, anytime, whenever you need to. You won't need special clothes. You won't need to change your position. You can do it while your are walking, driving, playing, or working.

If you go to my website, you will find out how to "become the expert on you."

You will see the information and how to sign up for my next workshop which just happens to be on Stress and Pain: Back, Neck, Feet.

I teach workshops, weekly classes, and individual sessions. Just contact me at

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

When I think back on my learning experiences, I wonder how I
ever got to where I am. I grew up in a
county that was known for its school district.
“One of the best,“ they said. I did well enough in school (especially considering
that I never really tried), mostly because I learned how to take a test at a
very early age.

Now, I don’t want it to sound like I didn’t have any great
learning experiences. My 5th
grade teacher, Mr. Wise (for real, that was his name!) told me that those who
don’t know all the answers but ask a lot of questions were really the smartest
kids in the class. As a self-proclaimed
smarty pants, that was a huge pill to swallow, but it never left me. History got a white-washing in 11th grade when I was taught that the Civil War
was about state’s rights, not slavery. But
I just loved my teacher, who was from Oklahoma and had quite the southern
drawl. My world history teacher in 12th
grade foretold that there would be a World War III and that it would start in
the Middle East, not Viet Nam. And that was 1969! What a genius Mr. Bridges was…

I finished up my my BS in Physical Therapy in 1975 and figured
I’d seen the last of the inside of a classroom.
Well, never say never, I did go back to school and finished my Master’s
at USC in 1980. This time it was really enough.

But in 1988, I signed up for my first 5 week segment of my 4 year Feldenkrais training. I
thought it was just part of ongoing education; another tool for my toolbox.

HA!

My life changed. My work changed. I stopped trying to fix
people and set out to help them “learn to learn.” I set out to help people identify how their
habits can help them or hurt them. I set
out to create a place where people could move and question and take charge of
their own body. I set out to create a
place where my becoming obsolete would mean my success, a place where people could
learn to make choices. A place where, as
long as they were willing, they could always come back to learn more.

I learned that true learning happens on the inside and that
it has to relate to our world in order to be relevant. I learned that listening, listening to yourself is how we find our own uniqueness and that that is way more important that a home exercise program or memorization. I learned that passing a test has absolutely nothing to do with true learning.
I learned that learning does not happen in one day. I learned that even after
you have learned something, there is more to learn.

And best of all: I found out that I love learning. I have a
feeling that you will, too. Let’s stay
in touch.

To see what I will be doing for the rest of the year, go to my website

Friday, August 26, 2016

Do you remember
sucking on your toes? (I hate to tell
you this, but I think I was able to do it until I was 12 years old. I know.
TMI. Really though, our hips are
made to move and Maddie on the left, is proof.

I recently read an article about stretching for
seniors. The author said that as we age
our muscles become shorter and lose elasticity. True, but why? In short, too much adult-ing: we sit more and
move less, and, we have been doing it for 30, 40, 50, 60 years.

Both of these can affect the structure of your
bones and muscles. We need to move, but the
trick is to do it safely so that we can do whatever type of exercise we like.

So, what do the hips and
pelvis have to do with each other?

Well, take a look at the
diagram on the right. This is a picture
of the pelvic floor, which shows the
muscles we tighten when we do “kegel”
exercises (you know, pretend that you have to urinate and stop it.) Many of us still
do the tightening now, all the time,
even though our baby is 35 years old. So
how come even though we’ve been diligently squeezing at stoplights for years we
now have dribbling and pain during sex? It’s
because these muscles are now are not only weak, but tight. What do you think would happen to your biceps
if you held your elbow closed for 35 years?

Muscle strength comes from
being able to shorten a lengthened muscle.
If the muscle is already short, it can’t get any shorter or
stronger. Also, notice how close your
hips are to the muscles in your pelvis:
the hip socket is above the pelvis and to the side. Some of the muscles
that move your hip come from your pelvis and vice versa. If one is tight and weak, the other is too.
These muscles are not only related to your hips, but to your back, knees, and
feet. If you are overusing or holding one area, chances are that you’re doing
it elsewhere, too.

How
many of you have been stretching your hamstrings for 25-plus years before
running, walking, yoga, or dance? Is it
working? Do your hamstrings, in the back
of your hip, or your muscles in the front of your thigh, ever get longer?
No they do not. They get tighter.
There is a difference between stretching and elongating…and that’s the key difference between
exercise and health.

Friday, August 19, 2016

I
started my tap class last April just before my 65th birthday and I
LOVE IT! I wanted to learn it when I was a little girl but my mother wouldn’t
allow it (something about Vaudeville and the sketch-y underside of showbiz, I
think…)

Anyway,
I can’t wait to tell you about this class! An admitted baby boomer herself, Deborah Perez
is a beautiful dancer and an excellent teacher. We do our shuffle-ball-changes at By Your Side Dance Studioin
Culver Cityand she is by far one of
the best dance teachers I have ever had.
She is able to adjust her teaching so that it’s unique to all of her
students; making each one feel as if they’re getting a private lesson. We have former dancers, young and strong
new-comers, and me: a 65-year-old, semi –coordinated, would-be dancer and
gymnast.

I’ve
always loved dancing. I love ballroom because
I can turn off my brain and pretend I’m a tall, long-legged dance diva. Not so with tap. This style of dance requires you to tune in,
turn on, and tap up!

Tapping
appears to be the perfect path to fitness of body and brain. It’s not unlike what I have experienced in my
25 years as a Feldenkrais® teacher; we like to think of ourselves as
“neuroplasticians” because our work can change the way people think, feel, and
act. According to Norman Doidge in his
latest book, The Brain’s Way of
Healing, neuroplasticity is the “property
of the brain that enables it tochange
its own structure and functioning in response to activity and mental experience.
“ We used to think the brain and central
nervous system was set once we reached the age of 25, but Doidge now believes
that in order to “enable neuroplasticity to happen, the approach must require the active
involvement of the whole patient in his or her own care: mind, brain, and body.”

I
think I am definitely in the process of transforming my mind and brain, and (with
a little luck) my body.

I
am tapping into the unknown; sometimes this dance can be confusing
and just plain hard. For instance, I was
already aware of my toe clenching habit but you sure can’t do that in tap
without developing pain almost instantly!
So it forces me to be constantly aware of where I am on my feet. This requires the participation of my brain
and muscles which in turn means constant challenges to my balance. I have to stay upright, relax my feet, move
in a circle and keep my hand aloft while slapping, spanking, shuffling, and
ball stepping.

Talk
about challenging!

One
of the ways we encourage neuroplasticity in the Feldenkrais Method® is by using
novelty. Awareness Through Movement
lessons are full of “novel” movements.
We “wake up” the brain (and therefore new neural pathways) by bringing
our awareness to parts that move
together. That’s what happens in
tap! In every lesson, we learn something
novel. I have learned the “Buffalo,” the
“Irish,” the “Grapevine,” and loads more.
And then there is memory. I can feel my brain growing as I learn the
moves and then put them into a sequence. A strategy thay my teacher recommends
is letting the music tell us what’s next.

Of
course, all of this requires strength
and endurance. My legs are not as
strong as they used to be and I don’t have the muscle fibers I once had. As I Feldenkrais teacher I know that if I
move just from my feet, I won’t last long in this vigorous dance. I must engage my whole self. If I don’t, I
won’t get through the hour class without being debilitated. If I do, I’ll feel invigorated!

So:
awareness, novelty, strength, endurance, and
memory. Tap wakes up your brain and your body by
using all of these and I have to tell you that along with my work as a
Feldenkrais teacher, I feel like I have found just the right combination of
body and brain exploration. I can feel
those neurotransmitters transmitting!!

I
have now found another love besides the gentle, lovely movement I do when I lie
on the floor for an Awareness Through Movement® lesson. My ability to tune into my movement and find
another, more suitable way to do it is ingrained in my Feldenkrais® study. Both
are keeping me young (and relieving my guilt about hating crossword puzzles and
Sudoku!)

Friday, July 29, 2016

There are four primary types of MS; relapsing-remitting,
secondary-progressive, primary-progressive, and progressive relapsing. But even though there are common factors among
those with MS, everyone is an individual. That means there’s no cookie cutter
approach to increasing function.

Heat can cause a
temporary worsening of MS symptoms and stress and tension can raise core body
temperature. With the gentle movement of a Feldenkrais® lesson, a participant
can learn to release stress and tension.
This helps turn down the heat while allowing body energy to flow freely.
By using attention and breath, one can learn to detect (and thereby avert) increased
body temperature *before* problems begin.

Living with MS can mean change and stress. Stress depletes an individual both emotionally and physically
and adds to fatigue to boot. Using the
Feldenkrais Method® helps those with MS learn how to function in a more relaxed state, thus quieting the sympathetic
nervous system (your “fight or flight” response.) Since the movements are based
on functional activities, people are given the opportunity to notice their
habitual anxiety patterns and to explore more effective ways to cope. While
teaching regular classes for the MS Society, we frequently met in less than
optimal facilities. There was often
noise or movement in the room, but I chose not to change the location of these
sessions because I knew my students needed to learn to calm and sense themselves
in all surroundings. After all, malls, noisy
restaurants, and traffic jams don’t go away just because you have MS!

Fatigue can be the
biggest challenge because we can create it without even knowing it. Strain, tension, and fatigue are often the
result of smaller muscles doing the work of larger ones. Learning does not occur
when fatigue is present, so students are given the opportunity to modulate
their own sense of fatigue. Because participants
are able to move or rest at their own pace, they gain more control over
fatigue.

Flexibilty is the
ability to switch and use a different part of the body for an activity. Learning to use muscles to move rather than to
support will improve range of motion and aid in increasing energy. Initiating motion from large muscles closer
to the center of our bodies also allows for more proportional distribution of
movement, and that conserves energy and strength. Those are the keys to maintaining the joint
and muscle flexibility that is important for walking and other daily living
activities.

Although I accommodate all ability levels and use many
positions, I like lessons on the floor because it helps people feel and sense
in a different way and explore what
works. This enables students to discover
a new way to walk, get up from the floor, or play with a child. I teach my student to notice what is happening.

I ask students to do less
than they can so that they can focus on learning how to be their own “inner
advisor”. Once moving becomes easier,
they naturally want to do more.

Friday, July 15, 2016

More About How I work with Multiple Sclerosis

Let’s get more specific about what I do for people with Multiple Sclerosis

In my last blog, I wrote about how the Feldenkrais Method® can benefit people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This blog will be the second of 3 blogs about MS and will get into more details for folks who would like more information.

Most people don’t ever think about what they do or how they move, that is until movement becomes a little harder. When we slow down and pay attention to how we move and what we do, we are able to fine tune our movements and actions. In other words as Moshe Feldenkrais said, “If you don’t know what you do, you can’t do what you want.” This is exactly what we learn when we practice the Feldenkrais Method®.

If you have MS, or know somebody who does, (there are approximately 200,000 people in the US and 2.5 million worldwide with MS) then you know about some of the debilitating symptoms. Because the symptoms are so varied, when working with MS, one must have a clear understanding of the interweaving nature of the brain and body. One cannot “correct” one part without affecting the others. We cannot change walking if we don’t work on breathing or knowing where we are in space. The Feldenkrais Method® is based on connections of parts and the whole and how they work together and separately.

I will use the example of walking and in this blog, I will cover 4 symptoms of MS and how I work with them. I will cover 4 more in my next blog. Some of the words I use may not be familiar to you, but if you have MS, or know MS, you know what these words are.

Walking is the primary reason that people with MS come to my practice. What do you need to be able to walk? We will start with an awareness of where your body parts are in space. In medical language, this is called kinesthetics/proprioception. I take you through a series of movement sequences, either verbally or by touching you. These very gentle, easy movements allow you to relax. When you become relaxed you can explore the movement. You can become aware of movement patterns that are holding you back. You can learn how to abandon habitual movement patters that are not working. No doubt, they used to work, but not now. Through the subtle movement lessons, one can develop awareness, leading to flexibility and coordination.

Another symptom that makes walking difficult is spasticity. Spasticity is a state where certain muscles are contracted at all, or inappropriate times. The Feldenkrais Method® encourages students to move with little effort, enabling them to stop or reverse any movement before the muscles can become excited or overexcited. Movements are slow, gentle, and safe. You will be better able to modulate the how your muscles begin action. You now will be allowed to make minor adjustments based on your own perception.

Problems with coordination are quite common among people with Multiple Sclerosis, because of decreased communication within the brain and spinal cord. Coordination is complicated, at best. Actions utilize certain muscle sequences. An example, you bend you knee, and lift your foot before your hip moves your leg forward for walking. However, before you even move your legs, you see something you want to walk to or for, either in reality or in your imagination. You also have to maintain an upright posture and you must be breathing if you want to move efficiently. The movement sequences in either modality of the Feldenkrais Method® teaches control of movement in space. This includes the ability to control direction, quality, and speed.

So often people with MS have difficulty maintaining balance. Through the Feldenkrais Method®, students with MS are given the opportunity to explore “dynamic posture,” where the skeleton carries the weight and the muscles are freed up to move more efficiently. The relationship between the skeleton and muscles is explored. Movement through the center of the body is emphasized, rather than holding at the “core.”